


How Kenny Found himself to be a counselor

by Ladyspirkis4life97



Series: Trusting You [3]
Category: South Park
Genre: Blink and you'll miss it, Cannon typical cursing, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Past Sexual Abuse, hints at abuse, past abuse hinted at, very brief mention of abortion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 12:41:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19441684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyspirkis4life97/pseuds/Ladyspirkis4life97
Summary: Kenny was an abused child that no one noticed or cared enough to notice. However, he is able to start a career that will change children's lives with the help of Mr. Mackey.





	How Kenny Found himself to be a counselor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PartiPooper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartiPooper/gifts).



> This is a part of my Trusting You AU this is the back story on why Kenny chose to be an abuse counselor. I am sorry if anything in this triggers you, if even the mention of abuse causes problems I caution you to avoid this as the beginning mentions various types. For all others please enjoy this look into Kenny's life in my AU and forgive me for any mistakes I still do not have a beta :) Also thank you to PartiPooper for giving me the guts to go for this and try something outside of my usual fair, I hope this is up to what you were interested in.

The abuse started when Kenny was only in fourth grade. It started off as little things, being told he was stupid when he got a B in class, and as he grew older and his brother moved out, his mother and father began drinking even heavier and somehow miraculously gave birth to a daughter. It was then that Kenny knew he was going to have to stand up to his father. He stole what he needed to make the perfect costume and became “Mysterion” in a way to help his sister without her knowing it was him. Kenny couldn’t let his dad know how much he cared for Karen, he would get very jealous and might go after Karen. Kenny glowered, he would not let that happen. So he did the stupid shit that his friends did, went on their adventures, and destroyed his pride so he could get money from Cartman. 

Kenny knew he was his closest friend and the amount of dirt Kenny had on Cartman gave him comfort, such as that time when they were in sixth grade and Kenny was staying the night and heard Cartman moan out Kyles name. Yeah seems like the fat boy was dreaming about him, Cartman knows that Kenny knows and that keeps him from asking for anything too dangerous or illegal. Kenny stared up at his ceiling, he was now seventeen years old, his sister had run away at fifteen with her boyfriend and had not said a word to their mom or dad, all she left was a note given to her hero, explaining that she had gotten pregnant and refused to bring a baby into that environment. Kenny wanted to assure her that she could abort but he had to bite his tongue because she was already gone. Kenny kept the letter to himself, it had an address for him to come visit her once he was able to escape their parents and dealt with the beating that came because he didn’t stop his sister from leaving. It’s at this point that one might think why didn’t they go and get help? Simple the adults were morons and useless, Kenny went from fourth grade up not showing his body or face, not participating in gym class and no one said a thing, not the principle, not the teachers, and certainly not his friends.  
Getting up and snagging a room temperature waffle from the table he went to walk out for the school bus and didn’t even flinch as he heard his parents yell at each other and a beer bottle was thrown at his head. 

A pocket knife held to his dad’s throat as he tried to untie his sleep pants at the age of nine kept the jerk away from him, but that didn’t stop the verbal and physical abuse. Most of the time his mom took the brunt, she wasn’t a bad person, but Kenny still felt bile in his throat that she not only still slept with him but stayed married to him. She could have found someone better to take care of him and his siblings if she just sobered up. Shrugging his bag onto his shoulder he got into Stan’s Toyota Prius and promptly ignored Cartman saying “bet the poor boy still hasn’t gotten used to the finer things in life.” He did take note however of Cartman keeping an eye on Kyle, always on Kyle waiting to see a reaction. Kyle then gave Cartman what he wanted and told him to shut his fat ass mouth and that he only had money because his mom was a whore. They started slapping at each other and the sexual tension was suffocating. He looked at their other friend, wondering if he felt it too but he was too busy on the phone with Wendy. Wendy and Kyle had both graduated early but Kyle had opted to finish his high school life while Wendy went to Harvard to get a jump start on college, so Stan and she messaged and called each other all the time. 

Kyle was telling Stan the dangers of distracted driving which of course upped Cartman’s antics. It was awkward being the fourth wheel, though Kenny should be used to it by now, he smiled briefly as he remembered pretending to be a princess but then quickly hid it not wanting his friends to ask what made him smile, not that they did but sometimes he hoped. School went by in a breeze and soon it was summer vacation again. Stan was driving up to Massachusetts to see Wendy and Cartman and Kyle were going on family vacations with their respective parents and Kenny, well Kenny was going to a school to be a child abuse counselor. With Mr. Mackey’s help, Kenny had signed up for some college courses provided by the local college and studied hard to pass all of his tests. In two years he would be out in the field helping children just like him and his siblings. Mr. Mackey was great, not only did he pay for his college classes, but he also helped him find the necessary documents, and talked to the IRS to get him a FASFA that included student housing as well as his books. 

School let out on the last day and Kenny walked to Mr. Mackey's car, already filled with his three suitcases of clothes and various nicknacks he had gotten from his travels with the guys. Mr. Mackey had insisted on school shopping and suit shopping so Kenny was prepared, he even had a part-time job ready for him so he could provide food and essentials for himself while he worked the rest of the time on school and at the local precinct to get his hours in. He waved to Cartman and Kyle who were standing oddly close to each other and with his hood finally down smiled at them a crooked smile. They both waved back pulling on Stan to wave as well. Stan reluctantly held up a hand in a goodbye gesture but looked up and smiled when Kyle elbowed him in the ribs. They both knew they weren’t going to see him for a while but he had a phone and he was going to keep in touch, whether or not they did was another matter.  
Two years later  
Kenny breathed a sigh of relief as hung up his diploma in his studio apartment, feeling pain as he remembered how he got it.  
Flashback  
“Kenny McCormick!” The headmaster yelled and Kenny walked up to accept his diploma to a rousing set of cheers. The guys weren’t there but his classmates and boyfriend, Butters are, videotaping it for Mr. Mackey who unfortunately was in the hospital for a case of pneumonia. Kenny stayed around, walking around with Butters taking pictures with his friends and various teachers, holding up his diploma for all to see and then finally he and Butters got into the car after Kenny changed, to go to the hospital to check on Mr. Mackey. Once there Kenny and Butters went up to the desk, to ask where Mr. Mackey was located, luckily Mr. Mackey had listed Kenny as his grandson so he was allowed up with Butters, what put a stake in his heart though is that they are heading towards the cancer unit. Once they arrived at the room they walked in and Kenny stared blankly as Butters held his hand up to his mouth and let out a sob. There Mr. Mackey was, with an oxygen mask on and a feeding tube down his throat, no hair and looking stick thin with milky eyes. Kenny glanced to the nurse and simply said: “what the fuck is wrong with my grandpa?” 

The nurse sighed and said “he didn’t want to tell you while you were in college but for the past two years he has been battling lung cancer. Unfortunately, the treatments didn’t stick and he is now in stage 4.” The nurse shuffled uncomfortably as Kenny just continued to stare at her and promptly stepped aside when Kenny took two big steps towards the bed to hold his grandpa's hand. Mr. Mackey smiled around his various tubes at Kenny and with a single tear Kenny simply asked: “why?” Mr. Mackey frowned and searched for the nurse and Kenny looked over as she said: “it runs in his family, unfortunately, he was just very unlikely I’m surprised you never visited him, he couldn’t hide it for long.” That was a lie Mr. Mackey hid it very well, maybe it had something to do with being born in South Park but he went from ok to sick in as little as twenty-four hours but Kenny just rolled his eyes and said in a choked sob “How long do I have left with him?” 

The nurse hesitated but said with another look at his vials “it’s hard to say, the disease is spreading very quickly if I had to guess I would say you have a day.” Kenny gratefully sank to the chair Butters brought to him and pressed his forehead to Mr. Mackey’s hand. This was so fucked up, the one adult who gave a damn, the one fucking adult that saw Kenny’s pain and helped him through it and he was losing him. Why couldn’t he give someone else his immortality? He had thought he was resigned to the knowledge that he would live and watch his whole family and friends disappear but seeing it happen just made Kenny realize he was not ready at all. He requested a couple of sandwiches for him and Butters and a TV with a player so he could let Mr. Mackey watch his graduation video. Mr. Mackey couldn’t talk back but that was ok, he lightly chuckled and smiled as Kenny told him the antics he got up to while in college and beamed like a proud father when Kenny showed him his diploma. Then, all too soon the heart monitor flatlined, panicked Kenny pressed the help button and a whole slew of nurses rushed in. 

He was yanked outside of the room with Butters and he was forced to pace after a nurse came out and told him if he didn’t stop throwing himself at the door, he would have to be escorted out. After what felt like forever the nurse they had talked to came out, but her expression wasn’t that of happiness, it was that of sorrow. She went to speak but Kenny just said “no. Fuck no!” and he ran away leaving a sympathetic nurse who just lost one of her patients and a confused boyfriend unsure if he should stick around to find more details or go comfort his boyfriend. The nurse spared him the decision by simply saying “tell him Mr. Mackey got out this before he passed, once we got his heart going again before it flatlined. He said, “Kenny I am so gosh darn proud of you mm’kay?” Butters nodded and left to find his boyfriend who was in the hospital’s chapel with his head bowed. Butters slowly approached him and in a broken voice Kenny said: “I won’t attack you, come sit with me.”

Butters kneeled down besides Kenny, ignoring his discomfort at being in a church after three years and said “he said something before he left you know. They got his heart started again I guess and he asked to speak. Do you want to know what he said?” Kenny nodded, subdued as he looked at the grown with unseeing eyes. “He said ‘I’m so gosh darned proud of you Kenny.’ He was proud of you, don’t beat yourself up for not knowing, he hid it well.” Kenny breathed in and said with tears down his face while looking at Butters and said “I just feel so much hate but also love for him you know? Like he fucking left me and couldn’t even have the decency to give me time to comprehend I was going to lose him, but I love him because he gave me this opportunity and was looking out for me right to the very end.” 

Butters placed an arm around Kenny and said: “losing a loved one is sometimes like that, you love them so much but you hate them for leaving you.” Kenny cried harder and faced Butters, falling into his arms, crying into the man that was all he had left. The funeral was held relatively quickly, at; east Kenny thought so, everyone from Colorado came out to show their support, Kenny’s parents wisely didn’t show up. Karen did, however, newly married with a baby girl on her hip, as did Kevin arm wrapped around a man he introduced as Steven. Kenny introduced Butters to his family and held onto him as he received condolences after condolences. He almost broke when Stan clapped him on the shoulder and said: “we’re here for you dude.” They were, of course, Kyle helped pay for the funeral and him and Sheila arranged it, Wendy used her limited legal skills to help Kenny get the best deal and not be fucked over, Cartman just gave him a pat on the back which was as much as he could expect if he was being honest and Stan helped cheer him up with pictures of his and Wendy’s kid and animal facts. 

After the funeral there was the will reading, Kenny was left everything and that included a studio apartment bought and paid for as well as a car and all the furniture held within the house. To his actual grandkids, he left five dollars and gave the rest of the two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars to Kenny. To say Mr. Mackey’s biological family was furious was an understatement but they hadn’t spoken to Mr. Mackey in years and Kenny was annoyed they were even allowed at the funeral. Thankfully Wendy put them in their place and they left after the will reading. Then he spent the night getting trashed with the guys before everyone left him again and he was alone with the tombstone of the only person he felt gave a damn,  
End of Flashback

Kenny looked at his apartment in bittersweet sadness, through a stroke of luck they were all living close to each other again, Kyle and Cartman in one house, Stan and Wendy and their kids, and him and Butters and if the next day went right, their son. Mr. Mackey would be proud of what he accomplished. He goes over to his husband and kisses him deeply, placing a hand under his shirt and groaned in exasperation as both of their phones rang. With a silent laugh, Butters and Kenny opened their phones at the same time, keeping a hold of each other, then with practiced ease, they let go of each other, Butters throwing on his doctor coat and Kenny putting on his loafers that Cartman still teased him about. Butters was searching frantically for his keys and Kenny gently tossed them to him. Butters smiled at him, gratefully and they both ran to their cars, started it up and drove to their respective dreams, confident that their future will always be waiting for them and as Kenny walked into the counseling room and sat down across from a little boy, he nearly wept as he said “So I need help mmm’ kay?


End file.
